December 2018 - We are delighted to announce the appointment of our new Student Governor, Sophie Hemsley.

Sophie joined Newbury College from The Clere in Burghclere, in September 2017 to study L1 Catering and Hospitality, driven by a passion for catering from an early age and impressed by the industry standard training kitchen at the College.

In December 2018, now working towards her Level 3 in Catering and Hospitality, Sophie was appointed Student Governor. “As a Student Governor I provide student insight, working together with the staff to generate ideas and feedback a student perspective. I meet with the College Governors to discuss the agenda for the term, and I have an opportunity to give feedback from the student council, which I chair. It is good to know our student voice is heard and I am privileged to have been chosen to represent the students amongst the governors.”

We asked Sophie to tell us about a typical day at Newbury College

08:00 - Arrive at College and head to The Street Diner for a Starbucks to kick start the day. I tend to get into the Restaurant early and begin polishing the cutlery ready for service.09:00 - I pop out for a Maths lesson for an hour and then head back to the Restaurant to help set-up the tables, stock the fridges and polish the glasses.10:00 - Tasks rotate every week; either cooking or front-of-house, this ensures we get experience of all aspects of catering and hospitality. Today I’m in the kitchen, its December so we’re cooking Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. All items are prepared from scratch.12:00 - Service starts. We plate the food ready for the waiting staff, serving between 30-50 people per sitting. Once we finish in the kitchen we go and help front-of-house with clean down.15:30 - I head home and have a rest before starting work.I work 4 times a week as a chef at a local pub and love the fact that I have actual experience within my course. It has made it a lot easier to adapt to life in a professional kitchen.

A little bit of royaltySophie is also a Pearly Princess, and having celebrated her 18th birthday, takes the title of Pearly Queen in 2019.

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